being wrong is central to my worldview #

When you live your life based on evidence, your natural inclination is to dismantle and test your assumptions. People who live their lives based on evidence, rather than faith, welcome being wrong.

When you’re presented with new information that challenges your understanding of the world, but choose not to consider it and adjust your understanding, then you’re living in cognitive dissonance. You’re making a choice to remain comfortable rather than embracing truth.

it feels like fighting for your life #

I get it. I used to cling to my identity rooted in religion because I was taught that’s all I had. I genuinely found comfort and belonging in the church, but at a very steep price. It wasn’t until I started questioning what I believed that I started to test my understanding of the world.

step into deconstructing #

To be absolutely clear, I welcome information that proves my assumptions wrong. I embrace it and choose to grow as a person. I actively dig into it.

If you find yourself using scripture to justify your beliefs and understanding of the world, I’d challenge you to really dig into learning way more about the bible you’re reading. Don’t just read it at face value. Be willing to start over with your understanding and try to watch for when you’re filling in the blanks with meaning you were told. Spend time learning about accurate exegesis and hermeneutics.

I promise, gentle reader, deconstructing won’t hurt as much as your brain is telling you. You’re not a sinner in the hands of an angry god [1]. You won’t be struck down if you start to question your faith. You won’t end up in hell [2].

[1] Despite so many modern evangelical churches claiming otherwise, I don’t see evidence that their theology has evolved past being afraid of an angry father figure in heaven. It’s central to what many modern evangelical theologies believe. Rules based religion never really gets past that. Anytime you hear about sin, forgiveness, shame, righteousness, or holiness, it’s all based in the need for a blood sacrifice to atone with an angry god. BTW, that sounds pretty pagan to me.

[2] Because there’s no such thing. Seriously, the idea of hell was co-opted from other philosophies as Christianity adapted to fit the audience of the time. Learning history is great, I highly recommend.